REM broke up back in 2011. However, the influential indie-rock band is back with a new five-song EP release called "Radio Free Europe 2025," which features previously unreleased songs and a new remix of the title track.
Proceeds from the sale of the vinyl version will go to support the American state-run service Radio Free Europe (RFE), which is currently under attack from the Donald Trump administration.
This EP release, which comes more than four decades after the original release of the song "Radio Free Europe" in 1981, was released on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of RFE/RL, as well as International Press Freedom Day (May 3).
REM members stated that the mission of promoting free expression has always been close to them.
"Whether it's music or press freedom, censorship anywhere is a threat to truth everywhere. On the occasion of Press Freedom Day, I send my support to the brave journalists of Radio Free Europe," said frontman and co-founder of the band, Michael Stipe.
Bassist Mike Mills added: "Radio Free Europe journalists have been pissing off dictators for 75 years. You know you're doing the right thing when you have real enemies. Happy Press Freedom Day to the original Radio Free Europe."
Although the song is called that, Mills said in the liner notes for the double album "And I Feel Fine… The Best of the IRS Years 1982–1987" that it "has nothing to do" with the aforementioned media company: "We just liked the name."
"For me, REM's music has always been a celebration of freedom: freedom of expression, lyrics that make us think, and melodies that inspire us to act. These are precisely the goals of our journalists, to inform, inspire, and preserve freedoms that are unattainable for many. We hold dictators accountable. They try to silence us by blocking our websites, jamming our signals, and even imprisoning our colleagues," said RFE/RL President and CEO Steven Capas.
In March, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order attempting to shut down the Voice of America, which also operates RFE/RL.
The court overturned the decision, but the White House withheld funding, leading to layoffs at the outlets. On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered the administration to return $12 million that Congress had approved for RFE/RL.
REM's "Radio Free Europe 2025" is now available for streaming and download.
The EP was released under the "Craft Recordings" label and produced by the band's original producer Mitch Easter.
The EP begins with a remix from 2025, and also features four original recordings from 1981 produced by Mitch Isterr: the Hib-Tone single version of "Radio Free Europe", its B-side "Sitting Still", the demo "Wh. Tornado" and the previously unreleased 1981 remix of "Radio Free Dub".
In 2009, "Radio Free Europe" was inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for "setting the pattern for later indie-rock releases."
REM was formed in 1980 in Georgia, and had a three-decade career with multi-platinum releases before they amicably split in 2011. During their career, the band released 15 studio albums, won three Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2007) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2024).
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